Have a laptop you no longer need or an old kettle gathering dust in a cupboard? You can now take unwanted small electrical items to be repaired and used again.

Ealing Council has introduced the new service to help keep more items in use for longer, cut waste and help local people access affordable electrical items. It also supports the local community by building repair skills and creating jobs. It is available at the borough’s reuse and recycling centre in Greenford Road.

Simply book a slot and take your unwanted small electrical items to the dedicated reuse area at the centre. If you have any chargers to go with the items, please take those along too.

Suitable items will be collected by specialist repair organisations. And any items that cannot be repaired will be recycled instead. Working devices that you no longer need are also welcome.

Repaired electrical items will then be made available to community organisations through donation schemes or to local people at an affordable price through the Action West London and Tfix websites.

Safe and secure

All repairs are carried out by certified providers working to recognised industry standards. Any personal data stored on devices is securely wiped before an item is reused.

What can I take?

You can take a wide range of small household electrical items, including:

• laptops, tablets and PCs
• mobile and landline phones
• small kitchen appliances
• servers (rack-mounted and blade servers)
• games consoles
• small electric powered DIY tools
• electronic toys

Councillor Dominic Moffitt, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for residents to make sustainable choices and keep items in use for longer.

“Too many electrical items are thrown away when they could still be repaired and used. By bringing unwanted electricals to Greenford Road reuse and recycling centre, residents can help cut waste and make affordable electrical items available to local people.”

Other ways to recycle electricals

If an electrical item cannot be repaired or reused, you can also use one of the borough’s small electrical recycling banks.

Any item with a plug, battery or cable should be recycled as a small electrical item rather than put in your household bins. If you can, remove batteries first and recycle them separately.

Electrical items and batteries can cause fires when they are crushed in rubbish and recycling lorries, putting crews, residents, vehicles and facilities at risk.

Always place items inside the recycling banks. Leaving them next to or outside a bank is fly-tipping and could lead to a fixed penalty notice of up to £1,000. It can also damage items that might otherwise have been repaired, reused or recycled.

Need an electrical item only occasionally?

Before buying new, take a look at the borough’s Library of Things. You can borrow a range of household electrical items and tools for a fraction of the cost of buying them.